Foreigners in Italy are much happier with their lives than Italians, according to figures published on Tuesday by Istat, the national statistics agency.

Some 60.8 percent of foreigners polled gave their level of life satisfaction eight or more points out of 10, compared to just 37.2 percent of Italians.

Istat said in a statement that women and young foreigners were among the most satisfied.

The majority of foreigners – 58 percent – said they were satisfied with their jobs, with people from the Phillipines and Moldova having the most job satisfaction.

People from Ukraine and China, meanwhile, were the least satisfied with their employment.
The report didn't explain why foreigners were more satisfied with their lives, but other recent reports provide some clues.

"They take many more risks, they work hard,” Indra Perera, the chief of the Rome unit of the National Confederation of Artisans and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (CNA), told The Local in September.
Meanwhile, a survey last year found Italians to be among the unhappiest in Europe. An expert told The Localthis was mainly due to the bleak economic climate.